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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 14 2012
Inventory of official looting and shame
YAVUZ BAYDAR
Whenever you met Diran Bakar, you would be struck by his humility,
profound pain and endless resilience. Up until his death, Bakar, an
Armenian lawyer, was one of those calm-mannered but consistent
defenders of minority rights, and of Turkey's Armenians in particular.
He was a distinguished member of the community, and his early death
-- at 60 years old -- was a great loss for all of us. I will always
remember our private talks in the mid 1990s, which led to the
publication of AGOS.
When I looked through the huge book `2012 Declaration: A History of
Seized Armenian Properties in Ä°stanbul' yesterday, I knew how proud he
would have felt. Much of this `must read' text is based on his
professional archive, a source of painful memories on the official
looting which took place since the early years of the republic.
`This book is not the story of seized buildings made of stone or
cement, but the story of flesh-and-bone human beings. These seized
institutions and buildings were the cherished belongings of human
beings rich and poor, young and old, men and women, who had worked
hard to create or acquire them. These unjustly seized buildings gave
life to the schools, churches, orphanages and retirement homes of the
whole community. The social and cultural fabric of the
Turkish-Armenians depended on this economic foundation. It is our wish
that similar injustices will not be carried into the future, as people
read in this book the documented `why' and `how' of the attempts to
wipe out the life and culture of our community.'
This introduction is followed by almost 500 pages that span the
treatment of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire and the republic. The
story is divided into three sections. In the first we read not only
about the minority foundations and the changes in official policies,
but also about the impact of the Lausanne Treaty.
There is a very interesting chapter where a striking comparison is
made on the constant mistreatment of the Turkish minority in Western
Thrace (Greece) and the Armenians in Ä°stanbul. It leads to lucid
conclusions on how similar state policies in the two neighbors were
ruthless and in defiance of international law.
`Stories of seizure' is the second, and most engaging, part of the
book. The first story tells the story of the historic Kalfayan
Orphanage Building in the Old City which was entirely wiped out from
the map when the Bosporus Bridge was being built. The second is about
how the owner and foundation of the historic Bomonti Mıhitaryan
Elementary School was forced to pay rent for its own property. The
third one is a story about how an educational institution, the
Andonyan Armenian Monastery and School, was seized. The fourth is
about how a foundation called the KasımpaÅ?a Surp Hagop Church was
declared defunct by official decree while the fifth one is about how
the Tuzla Armenian Children's Camp (where the late Hrant Dink was
raised) was turned into desolate ruins.
Detail after detail, the reader follows a dark history unfolding. One
can say, certainly, that times have changed and thanks to the
`glasnost' policies of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
we now have access to more concrete data. But the sad part is that the
damage done over the decades is irreparable. It is a shame and,
speaking in terms of the total destruction of some properties, a
cultural crime.
The third part of the book is a huge inventory of the properties of 53
foundations, filing them district by district and street by street,
supported with photos, maps and graphics.
The book makes it clear that of the 1,328 properties that belong to
foundations, 661 were seized, while no one knows anything about the
fate of 87. Only lately, as of the past decade, were 143 of the seized
properties handed back to the foundations that owned them.
The pretext of injustice was the notorious 1936 Declaration, which was
used by the government at that time to launch confiscations. The Nazi
era was also a source of inspiration later on. This book sets the
record straight after more than seven decades.
`I have grappled with the `36 declaration for years,' Bakar had said.
`Therefore, I welcome even the slightest improvement.' Let his hope
come through, let justice be done.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=301075
From: Baghdasarian
Dec 14 2012
Inventory of official looting and shame
YAVUZ BAYDAR
Whenever you met Diran Bakar, you would be struck by his humility,
profound pain and endless resilience. Up until his death, Bakar, an
Armenian lawyer, was one of those calm-mannered but consistent
defenders of minority rights, and of Turkey's Armenians in particular.
He was a distinguished member of the community, and his early death
-- at 60 years old -- was a great loss for all of us. I will always
remember our private talks in the mid 1990s, which led to the
publication of AGOS.
When I looked through the huge book `2012 Declaration: A History of
Seized Armenian Properties in Ä°stanbul' yesterday, I knew how proud he
would have felt. Much of this `must read' text is based on his
professional archive, a source of painful memories on the official
looting which took place since the early years of the republic.
`This book is not the story of seized buildings made of stone or
cement, but the story of flesh-and-bone human beings. These seized
institutions and buildings were the cherished belongings of human
beings rich and poor, young and old, men and women, who had worked
hard to create or acquire them. These unjustly seized buildings gave
life to the schools, churches, orphanages and retirement homes of the
whole community. The social and cultural fabric of the
Turkish-Armenians depended on this economic foundation. It is our wish
that similar injustices will not be carried into the future, as people
read in this book the documented `why' and `how' of the attempts to
wipe out the life and culture of our community.'
This introduction is followed by almost 500 pages that span the
treatment of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire and the republic. The
story is divided into three sections. In the first we read not only
about the minority foundations and the changes in official policies,
but also about the impact of the Lausanne Treaty.
There is a very interesting chapter where a striking comparison is
made on the constant mistreatment of the Turkish minority in Western
Thrace (Greece) and the Armenians in Ä°stanbul. It leads to lucid
conclusions on how similar state policies in the two neighbors were
ruthless and in defiance of international law.
`Stories of seizure' is the second, and most engaging, part of the
book. The first story tells the story of the historic Kalfayan
Orphanage Building in the Old City which was entirely wiped out from
the map when the Bosporus Bridge was being built. The second is about
how the owner and foundation of the historic Bomonti Mıhitaryan
Elementary School was forced to pay rent for its own property. The
third one is a story about how an educational institution, the
Andonyan Armenian Monastery and School, was seized. The fourth is
about how a foundation called the KasımpaÅ?a Surp Hagop Church was
declared defunct by official decree while the fifth one is about how
the Tuzla Armenian Children's Camp (where the late Hrant Dink was
raised) was turned into desolate ruins.
Detail after detail, the reader follows a dark history unfolding. One
can say, certainly, that times have changed and thanks to the
`glasnost' policies of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
we now have access to more concrete data. But the sad part is that the
damage done over the decades is irreparable. It is a shame and,
speaking in terms of the total destruction of some properties, a
cultural crime.
The third part of the book is a huge inventory of the properties of 53
foundations, filing them district by district and street by street,
supported with photos, maps and graphics.
The book makes it clear that of the 1,328 properties that belong to
foundations, 661 were seized, while no one knows anything about the
fate of 87. Only lately, as of the past decade, were 143 of the seized
properties handed back to the foundations that owned them.
The pretext of injustice was the notorious 1936 Declaration, which was
used by the government at that time to launch confiscations. The Nazi
era was also a source of inspiration later on. This book sets the
record straight after more than seven decades.
`I have grappled with the `36 declaration for years,' Bakar had said.
`Therefore, I welcome even the slightest improvement.' Let his hope
come through, let justice be done.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=301075
From: Baghdasarian